Want to Cast Some Mundane Magic?
by Karianasan
Summary: After some work on the computer, Fred goes for a snack. And gets a bit sidetracked by Shaggy casting some magic in the kitchen. What is going on? And can Fred learn some magic as well? Read and see... Everyday/Slice of Life story. Chapter 4 is up and complete. Look for a second story. Daphne is up to something... Reviews welcome!
1. Want to Cast some Mundane Magic?

Blinking, Fred realized that he hadn't closed his eyes against the glare of the screen, for a while now. Closing them a few times to try to help get his eyes back to working, and properly hydrated against the glow of his monitor. It had been at least and hour or so, that Fred had been sifting through emails that morning. He had to respond to several of them, and then had been doing a bit of forum surfing looking for another mystery to solve for the gang.

He had to be careful on the internet. Not just because there were lots of scammers and such; but the gang had dealt with a few overly eager fans in the past... That had made what looked like a normal mystery solving request only to bring them their for a personal meeting with some overly eager admirers. And while he didn't mind meeting fans in general... there was more proper channels though Daphne, that was there for organized meet ups and other events like that rather then proposing a job and it turning out to be false. Also, they didn't get paid... So ,Fred had to be careful what jobs he picked up online. And so he spent a bit of time each day, combing through what was, and wasn't a real mystery.

"Mmmmmmnnngggh."

Leaning back for a stretch, Fred unfolded himself away from his laptop. Pushing his chair back, he shifted away from his desk and shut down his laptop before realizing he was a bit hungry at this point. He had breakfast with everyone, but that was a while ago and he it was time to be hungry again. Or at least enough for a small snack before a dedicated lunch lunch.

Wandering out of his room, he traversed the house to reach the dreaded kitchen door. It was always a gamble at what Shaggy and Scooby might be doing past the flimsy wooden door that made up the boundary between the safe hallway and the unknown state of the kitchen. But unless he took a chance at being unlucky, Fred would only be left wondering what lay beyond and also be hungry. So, he would just have to stick his head and just hope his reaction time was better then what might be coming at him.

"..."

Peering into the kitchen, it seemed at the moment that everything was safe.

Pressing further, Fred noticed that Shaggy was alone, and hanging out by the double sink on one side of the kitchen. No doubt taking care of some dishes that he and his buddy had made possibly only moments before. But it seemed that Shaggy was left to fend against the tide by himself, as Fred couldn't see Scooby anywhere. Though Fred could hear Shaggy muttering something to himself over there... catching Fred's attention and curiosity.

Step by step, as Fred got closer to his pal. He noticed that Shaggy was moving in a slightly odd way Nothing unnatural, but definitely not movements you would be making if you were just cleaning some dishes. Shaggy was shifting his elbows and wrists in small circles, and his hands seemed to be moving back and forth in front of him. Coming together and then being pulled apart. Almost like he was kneading some dough, but that would be a bad place to do that... wouldn't it? Being so close to the running water and bubbles rising up from the soapy sink...

"Hey Shag, what are you..."

Fred started to speak up, when his voice spooked his distracted companion. With a small 'eep', Shaggy spun on a heel and stared wide eyed at Fred standing behind him. Fred watched in fascination as what Shaggy was doing became apparently when he turned to face him. Linked between his palms, was a long tube of a bubble. With suds collecting between his fingertips, he had manage to somehow have created over a foot long of a bubble that connected his two hands. Though at the movement of turning around, the blob of soap was a bit slower then Shaggy was, warping as he turned. Wobbling and trailing seconds behind Shaggy's turn to face his best friend. And it was enough to break the bubble's form... splitting it up into three spheres. Two stayed attached in each of Shaggy's palms, and one that became air born and lazily drifted towards Fred.

"..."

They both watched as the smaller bubble bobbed across the kitchen between the two men. Inching closer to Fred. Confused at it, the blond man brought up a finger, only to close the gap and poke the floating soap ball into oblivion. Making a soundless pop as it came into contact with with his pointer finger.

"_Aw..._"

Looking up, Fred was a bit sad that it had gone. But what had he expected? It was a bubble after all. And unlike Shaggy's foamy hands, Fred's hands were dry and were not good receptors for catching bubbles. Though catching Fred's eye, Shaggy looked a bit embarrassed, caught '_Bubble Handed_' playing with the soap.

"Fred I.."

"What, did Scooby not want to play as well?" Fred didn't need him to explain. What he did with his own bought dish soap, wasn't for Fred to comment on. Plus it looked like fun, so he wasn't going to stop the guy from enjoying himself. It was harmless fun, and Fred had to allow himself to be ok with fun. Right? Especially when it was at home, and just hanging out with Shaggy. Otherwise the other man might threaten his beloved cereal again.

Seeing that Fred was lightening up, Shaggy grinned and wiggled the bubbles in his hands by moving his fingers in random directions. "Nah, he like' was stuffed from after breakfast, and decided to take a nap. I was taking care of the dishes left over and the top of the soap was loose. I didn't notice fast enough, and my hands ended up getting covered. I tried to start to wash it off... and well... this happened."

Offering his hands to be looked at, Shaggy waited only a moment before he started to place the two bubbles back together. Tongue sticking out one side of his face, the scruffy man was concentrating hard as he tried to ease the two bubbles into becoming one again. trying to shift the domes in his hands to join, bouncing them lightly until the tension of the two soap walls merged, becoming a slightly smaller but still large bubble.

"Ah ha!" Shaggy chirped triumphantly. "Ha ha!"

Bobbing the blob of soap between his hands, Shag delighted in his accomplishment. But it didn't last long, when the side gave out on one of his deeper squishes and the bubble popped.

"Aw. Oh well."

Moving his hands back to the sink, he gathered more water and soap in his hands. Squinting his eyes at Shaggy's motions, Fred watched captivated as Shaggy wiggled his fingers around, and soon had blown up an even bigger soap bubble then before!

"How... how did you do that?" Honestly, Fred wasn't much for playing around with bubbles. He used soap to clean things, and maybe as a child he had played with them. But it had been many years since then, and he really didn't know how Shaggy was doing this. It didn't seem hard to understand, and yet like magic at the same time.

"Bubble Magic... you need to teach me." Fred's morning had been way too serious so far. So, he could use a Shaggy's Silly interlude before he had to go back to more emails and job hunting for them all. And this seemed a good distraction. "..Please?"

Snickering, Shaggy was more then willing to teach Fred some '_bubble magic_'. Especially he had been nice enough to ask with a please. Refreshing the pot that he had been filling with his soap to water mixture, Flicking a hole in his bubble, he deflated it into nothing before grabbing Fred's hands and dumping it into the prepped pot. Fred offered no resistance as Shaggy tugged his hands into the water and then made sure to add a bit more soap to his own palms.

"Lessons with Northwode! Bubble Magic level one spell slot. Casting reagents are enchanted liquid, pure running water, and a metal crucible."

Shaggy joked,using the name of his Sorcerer from Maidens and Monsters to teach 'Terrin' some magic. He was a ranger after all, they learned some magic as well. Though this would be more of a cantrip then a spell spell. "So, first you need to make sure you hands are well coated. If it's lathering, then you should be good. I usually like' start with one hand and rub my thumb across my pointer finger until you create a film of soap. That is when it is ready."

Fred watched as Shaggy did that. Rubbing his fingers together till it seemed to have made a circle in the loop of his fingers. Like making an 'ok' hand shape, but with the loop being filled with soapy solution. Cupping his other hand a bit away from his other, Shaggy then blew into the gap and a bubble soon filled the gap between his hands. Once it was a decent size, he closed the circle... effectively capping off the bubble and sealing in the air. Placing both of his palms up, Shaggy then showed off the completed bubble to Fred with a proud grin.

"Tah dah!"

"... That looked really simple, but why do I feel that this is going to be harder then you make it out to be?" Fred signed, looking at his bubbly hands.


	2. Level one, Bubble Magic

"Well, you are just going to have to give it a try!" Shaggy encouraged, moving the single bubble to one hand and then waving it at Fred.

Staring at his hands, Fred used his thumb to feel the almost slimy feeling as the layer of soap and water coated his hands. He figured this layer, is what made the difference between Shaggy's bubble juggling and his earlier demolishing of the floating bubble. So, his hands were now ready and prepped for capturing his breath into a soap ball.

"... I feel like it's a missed opportunity here, for a Velma Technobabble." Fred mentioned with a chuckle. He wasn't as science savvy as she was, in order to properly explain the actual goings on of surface tension and other big words that made this magic make sense from a technical standpoint. Missing the brainac for her interesting point of view for something like this. But most likely she was busy, and would stumble into the kitchen when she was ready. And if not, they would send in a rescue team if need be.

"Heh, yeah. Though I bet Velma is at least casting Bubbles at least second or third level with all her work with soap." Shaggy laughed, knowing their younger member was one for her own experiments in the suds department. And was the one who made the gang's laundry detergent they used on a regular basis for their clothes. Not buying store brand, when she could make her own and do one better. Even though Blake Co. was originally a soap company.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, I bet she is a higher level caster then this. Hm. I'm behind then."

Wiggling his pointer finger against his thumb like Shaggy had suggested, Fred noticed that it was making the loop with the soap solution. But he was running into trouble as he tried to breath air into the boundary. As it kept popping. He tried to re-soap up his hands by placing them together, but the bubbles kept popping when he tried it.

"What am I doing wrong, Shag?"

"Ah, hm. Well, you need to blow into it softly, or it will break. So, you might be rushing too much and blowing at it too hard. But also I have noticed that sometimes it doesn't work as well if your hand is too soapy, or too wet. It might be a ratio problem. Hrm?" Looking over a Fred's hands compared to his own, he tried to figure out why he was able to make them, while Fred was struggling with his.

"Let's add some water to it." Shaggy suggested, which Fred complied. Turning on the water and placed both hands under the running faucet. Not really knowing what Shaggy meant by adding water to it.

"No, that's washing it off, you just needed to add a little. Now we need to add more soap..." Shaggy huffed, trying to get it right.

"Hoo boy... This is going to take a bit." Fred sighed.

Going back and forth, the duel kitchens sinks were filling up with even more soap suds then when Fred had first come in. Overflowing it to the point that any water that went down one sink drain, caused a frothing mess of bubbles to rise up and spill forth from the other. Since they were joined, and hadn't drained enough to not cause an explosion of bubbles on the other drain in response.

But! It seemed that after enough trial and error, they had managed to have found the right mixture and consistency that was working for Shaggy to create bubbles. And Fred HAD been trying to hard, blowing too roughly on the surface and breaking it before it could become a proper bubble.

"..."

Stealing a glance, Shaggy nodded firmly at Fred for him to finally give it a go. He had gotten close, but hadn't manage to get the right technique to have the bubble last, or be anywhere near as large as Shaggy had pulled off earlier. But he was close.

Breathing in and out, Fred centered himself. '_Slow and steady...' _He mental reminded himself. Rubbing his palms to make sure they were evenly coated, Fred worked on the start of the bubble. Thumb rubbed on forefinger and arced to create the start of the bubble. But now the next steps were paramount! One more glance and reassuring nod from his pal, Fred gave it a try.

Blowing in spurts, Fred corrected himself and evened out his breathing so the sharp bursts of air wouldn't pop it prematurely. Slow and continuous, he eased the air into the gap between his fingers. Beads of sweat dripped down his face as he concentrated. But slowly, the bubble began to fill up and expand outwards into his awaiting other hand to catch it. Keeping an eye on the edges, Fred slowly added more into the cavity and pulled his palms apart to give the blob more room to expand into. But he was starting to run out of breath, so he had to cap it off.

Squeezing his thumb over the hole, Fred also closed his eyes in reaction. Flinching and hoping that he had finally pulled off a big enough bubble to match one that Shaggy had made. Or frankly, a bubble at all, and it wouldn't have popped while he wasn't looking. But he had to look and see... Seconds ticked by, before he risked taking a gander. Slowly peeking his eyes open, cautiously peered to see if it had held.

"**!**"

"Congrats Freddy! You like' did it!" Shaggy congratulated the man for finally pulling off a decently sized sphere between his hands. Clapping him on the shoulder, though not too hard that it might end up popping the bubble in response. Ruining all of his buddy's progress.

Fascinated, Fred slowly pulled apart his hands and watched the soap blob expand under his movement. Wiggling it lightly, it felt like almost nothing was there. Being made up of air and soap skin, lighter then a rubber balloon would be in his grip. But even if his hands couldn't feel the weight of it, he could still grasp it's mass between his fingers. And slowly was kinda seeing how much he could squish it or twist before it seemed like it would break. Making sure not to get past that threshold.

Seeing Fred having finally made a bubble to be proud of, Shaggy quickly cast Bubble for himself and blew up a dome in each hand. Arcing several inches of surface area past his fingers in seconds. Then wiggling his eyebrows at Fred, he nodded his chin towards the man.

"Hey Fred, Stay still."

With the soap stretched between his palms, Fred watched unmoving... as Shaggy mischievously crept closer. Holding his hands up threateningly, Shaggy closed the gap between the two men. Slowly, Shaggy placed his bubbles on the side of Fred's. Sucking up his breath and holding it, the blond man was afraid to budge. Mimicing a statue, eyes glued in front of him as Shaggy was trying to fuse their soap blobs together.

Holding their tension, Shaggy's spheres bowed in the bubble that stretched between Fred's grasp. Wiggling the soapy walls against the outside pressure, Fred squeaked a bit as his first nice bubble was put to the test before him.

_But in an instant... the bubbles **merged!**_

Sitting joined between their four hands, was one massive soap bubble blob. Linking their fingers together with arcs of a shimmering rainbow wall. (Reminiscent of an oil spill But far prettier in color, but still with a sheen of all the colors.) They stared in marvel at the monster that had manged to be created between them both. Wobbling at any slight movement, but still holding.

"_Wow, It is so big, yet so light..._" Fred said with a whisper, afraid to talk to loud at it. Sending sound waves across it and break what little was holding it together. "_...I wonder how much it would weigh, if we could find a way to measure it that is._"

As the two stared in astonishment, the moment only lasted seconds before a voice randomly cut into their moment. Coming from the island in the kitchen behind them.

"**_...NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS!_**"


	3. Roll for Concentration

"_...NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS._"

Propped up and sitting high on the island of the kitchen, Daphne had one knee lazily draped over the other with a plate sitting on top of them both. Lounging in her heart pajama pants and favorite sporting team t-shirt, (_as she usually lazily chose the longer they were home from their last mystery._) She went back to munching on one half of her '_simple_' sandwich as she watched the pair playing around with bubbles. Bobbing a fuzzy slipped foot a bit, to an unheard beat as she grinned at them bemused from above.

It was hard to know how long she had been in the room. But it had been enough time for her to have arrived in the room, made a sandwich, taken a seat on the island, and have taken several bites of her meal before she made her presence known. Leaving the guys to stare spooked at her sudden appearance. Having been so caught up in their magic casting, to have even thought to see if anyone else was in the room.

"Oh, don't stop on my account." She said, waving one hand but then having to catch her sandwich before it tumbled out of its breaded containment. It was overflowing with it's contents, and Fred was surprised that she had managed to not end up with it in her lap with her motions.

"Oh... I did come down here for a snack. Drat." Fred realized he had totally spaced on the whole reason he had come down to the kitchen in the first place. But he had been so distracted with Shaggy and the bubbles, that he had forgotten his original goal. And right now, he was trying to not move and break the giant bubble that still sat between the guy's collection of hands.

"Well, since you guys seem to have your hands '_full_'..." Daphne snorted with a smile. She hopped off of the raised surface and landed softly on the floor with a clack of her slippers. Rubber soled for her comfort and gripping power. Keeping her from sliding on the wooden floor and ending up more accident prone then she needed that afternoon. Looking to the untouched half of her food, she contemplated it over and considered her available options. But it was a bit too thick to be nice and just offer the whole thing to Fred as it was.

"Hm."

The sandwich was a beast of a handful. One of Shaggy's creations, well at least part of it. As per usual, Shaggy had a few vegetarian options squirreled away in his fridge. And Daphne had managed to sneak by them both, and nab a concoction of Shaggy's genius. Making like a slaw of Chickpeas, sunflower seeds, Mayo, pickles and a shot of maple syrup for sweetness. She layered it with a row of cherry tomatoes sliced in half on one side of the bread, and drizzled a garlic secret sauce on top of some red onions and lettuce. Mashing it together between two toasted pieces of honey wheat bread. It sat several inches tall... Not as intimidating as a "_Shaggy Special_" but definitely a large, and hefty handful collection of tasty goodies.

Placing the plate where she had just been sitting, she shifted her weight and jumped up to press both hands into the untouched half. Squishing the contents together between the two retaining walls of the bread. Bouncing on it a bit, she tried to squeeze out the last of its height into the flattest mass she could. Raiding a nearby drawer, she made quick work slicing it into small, bite sized bits to offer Fred.

"Here, this should be better."

Grabbing the more manageable bite for Fred, she then had to find a way to deliver it to him without breaking the creation between them. As much as she was lightly making fun of them earlier, it was a very impressive bubble. And she had spent enough time watching Fred fail his earlier attempts, to appreciate the one they held delicately between their four palms.

Gripping her floppy, t-shirt sleeve... she arched her arm over the bubble while pulled the sleeve out of the way. Trying to reach the hungry man before her. Eyeing the rainbow thin wall she was trying to avoid. She stretched and went on her tippy toes to then toss the morsel into his awaiting mouth.

"Curse you two being so tall!... Almost... _almost..._ There we go!"

"Hm! That is pretty good!" Munching happily away, Fred was surprised at the combination of taste and texture the bite he had been given. Hands down figuring this was a Shaggy thing, rather then something Daphne had herself come up with, on a whim that day. She was not bad when it came to making food. But this complex, and eclectic mix of things had to be something his pal had come up with. Or at least the base bits, and Daphne had just added the accent parts to it.

Either way, it was really good.

"..." Sniffing sounds were being hiccuped from the other man standing there. Shooting Daphne the biggest set of puppy dog eyes he could, Shaggy poured on the sad look and bore into Daphne. Opening his mouth, he made small sounds. Acting like a baby bird asking to be fed.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

".. Really?"

"You did start it... feeding me that is. What did you think was going to happen?" Fred chuckled. Daphne rolled her eyes and sighed. Knowing that she had in fact, opened that can of worms. At least it seemed that Scooby wasn't around to catch her in a pincer movement while she was distracted... At least for now. He was ever more cunning then the red head was, at sneaking around for food.

_...She learned from the best after all._

"Fine. But only the other half of my sandwich. I at least want to have the other side before it vanishes..." Daphne tossed a glance about the kitchen before reaching for another piece to feed to Shaggy. As she brought it close to range, Shaggy tried to giraffe himself towards the bit of food, trying to stretch his neck to get to the food quicker. But in doing so, he didn't notice that he was inching his goatee towards the bubbles untimely demise.

**~POP~**

"aw..." Came another disappointing soft sound from Fred as the soap skin could not withstand the scruffy chin that was Shaggy. But it had lasted far longer then he thought it would. And well, now he could get the feeling back in his hands from trying to hold up his arms in a locked manner, to try to have preserved the oddly shaped blob that he and Shaggy had created.

And because the bubble had popped, Daphne had gotten distracted with its disappearance that she didn't close the gap enough to feed Shaggy properly. Not waiting for her, he brought up his soapy hand to pluck the piece of offered food from her paused grasp, and popped it into his mouth.

"SHAGGY! **EW**, **NO...** What are _you doing_?" Daphne gasped horrified at the idea of the overly soapy hands getting all over the food and then actually going in his mouth without a second thought. Shrugging, Shaggy munched along and savored the weird combination of meal and cleaning product. Sure, it wasn't going to kill him, but certainly not the best for him either.

"Have done, will do, and shall keep doing it." He said with a shrug, not really phased by the taste. And as he had said, it wasn't the first, nor the last time he would end up with soapy hands and indulge in some tasty morsel. He wasn't going to let a small bit of soap stop his quest for yummy things. Plus, Daphne had been **TOO SLOW** with feeding him! He had to compensate for the lost momentum.

Reaching for another piece, Shaggy was leaning around her to try to grab another nugget of goodness. Daphne quickly batted his hand away. Plucking the chunk of the sandwich in her own, unsoapy hands and shoved the mass of sandwich into his face for him to eat. Barring his hands from touching it, by overlapping her own hands over his mouth. Enduring her hand being licked clean, as it was better then seeing him eat another bit covered in suds. **EW!**

"Here, before he eats the rest of it on you." Daphne grabbed two more sandwich bits and offered them to Fred. Who accepted it as he was trying to make another bubble between bites. Daphne then alternating feeding Shaggy and Fred the last little bits before working on her own remaining half before anyone got an ideas. Swatting any attempts Shaggy was making grabs for. Not wanting to see that a second time.

With the sandwich polished off between the three of them, Shaggy and Fred went back to working on their bubble casting while Daphne kinda wandered around the edges of them. Absentmindedly poking a few suds on the edge of the sink. Not jumping to get her hands all soapy as well, since she had just done her nails a bit ago. And really didn't want to ruin her finish.

Peering over at the guys, she watched as Fred had grasped the general idea and had managed to get his right hand re-bubbled with one. But was struggling to make a second on the other hand, with his non-dominant hand. Shaggy on he other hand, had managed to get a small bubble on his left, and was using a larger bubble on his right to...

"What are you doing Shaggy?" Staring, Daphne wasn't able to understand what was going on in the lanky man's hands. He seemed to have two bubbles on each hand, yet he was making more, smaller bubbles dot his left. By seemly just poking them together.

"Well, I am like making some bubble grapes... Barely touching the surface of one bubble to the other, then pulling away suddenly with my other hand makes one part of the bubble want to cling to the other one, but also stay together in my hand. So, it like' ends up making tons of smaller ones." Shaggy tried his best to science out, but he wasn't exactly sure all the reasons behind it. But it was neat though! And he was able to do it many times, so that was cool.

"Gathering a bunch of bubbles, I can do_ooooo_... **This!** _Phuah~!_"

Turning to Daphne, Shaggy brought up his hand and blew into the collection of small blobs. With enough force from his breath, the collection of small rainbow sheen spheres took to the air and scattered from his palm. Mostly at Daphne, but being a weird combination of breath and soap... it drifted where it wanted to go.

"Fire ball!" Shaggy commanded at the bubbles as they went airborne. But it only took a second before he questioned his own statement. Brows knitting together as he considered his options for spell names.

"Fire... Bubble? Bubble Ball? Yeah, that sounds better... I cast Bubble ball!" Dotting a bunch more, he then blew a second round, this time towards Fred. Surprising the blond man as bubbles launched at him, and clung to his hands once they got near. (_The few that managed to land on his properly coated hands, compared to the rest that were decimated by his clothing and skin on contact..._) With a rogue survivor that awkwardly clung to his well maintained coif. Topping their Leader's head like a bow, as long as it lasted.

"What the... Shaggy, how did you do that?" Here, he was still trying to make one for each hand. And now Shaggy was tossing the bubbles at people. Amazing. So much for Fred to learn! Such crazy things you could do with bubbles that he wouldn't have thought about. Leave it up to Shaggy to know these sorts of things. Though, well... Velma probably knows some of this as well.

"Uh guys..." Daphne spoke up from the sink side, drawing their attention to her and what she was now showing off. Sitting on the lid of a soapy Tupperware that had been hanging out in the sink, sat one of the larger bubbles that Shaggy had blown at her. Daphne had managed to extract the lid from where it sat, and showed off what it had snagged without popping it. Which gave her an idea.

"I got an idea! What would happen if we..."


	4. Bubble Ball, Counter Spell Freeze!

"..."

Three sets of eyes, were glued to staring at the small bubble sitting before them. Placed upon the top of a box carefully, the group were crouched and gazing to see if there was any change in the small bubble in front of them.

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"No, that is why I thought for us to try it. I have no idea what it is going to do!"

"Guyyyyyyyssssss... I'm cold!"

"Quite whining Fred. It's not that..." Daphne says as she shivers, "...cold."

Seeing the small bubble captured on the Tupperware, Daphne got the idea to try to see what happens when you put a bubble in the cold. It felt like something Velma might have suggested, but as the woman seemed lost in the household. It was up to her best friend to make up for her loss and recommend the idea. (_She would have to find her later though, and share her research._)

And it was only possible, as they had a resident loony in the house, who had asked to have a walk in freezer and fridge installed in their house when they were remodeling all those years ago. (_Ignoring that her family's mansion and summer home had some as well. But well, they hosted social events a lot. Shaggy and Scooby were just gluttons._) So, instead of having to wait for winter to finally arrive to see what would happen, they had a more local source of cold.

"...aww." Came another soft sound from Fred. Bringing their attention back to the bubble. "We missed what happened."

Being so caught up in their bickering and conversation that they all had missed what had happened to the hapless bubble in the cold.

"..." Squinting slightly, Daphne pushed to her slippered feet and noticed something. Catching a laugh, she patted Fred's shoulder beside her and shook her head. "Alright you guys... I'll go get something warmer for us to wear. I think we will have to stand in the freezer to watch this properly. Can you get some bubbles set up on other surfaces so we can try this a second time?"

"Sure! Can do!"

Standing up, Shaggy saluted Daphne with a lopsided grin and nudged Fred between the two. Still crouched and picking up the cold lid, Fred looked up at the nudge and then looked over at Daphne and took in her suggestion.

"Hm, yeah. We might have not give it the best chance with the door open like that, so we could look in." Offering the lid to Shaggy, he stood up and moved to help the man try to make some more bubbles.

Splitting up, Fred restrained himself at home to toss about his favorite line and moved to help Shaggy try to get some bubbles put on some flat surfaces. Trying various lids and plates, even making more dishes in order to give them more options for capturing the bubbles upon. Figuring out exactly how wet or soapy it needed to be, to keep the bubble in place and not popping.

By the time Daphne returned to the kitchen, Shaggy and Fred had managed to have set up a few bubbles on some flat-ish dishes that were easier to pick up and move into the walk-in. But they managed to wait, to not start without Daphne. As it was her idea after all, plus she was being them warmer clothing. To be able to research more comfortably.

"I brought bathrobes!" Holding up one in each hand, the red head showed off her bounty. Snuggled in another bathrobe she had put on to keep herself warm. Drawing the belt around herself in the proper loops and tying it tight around her body to keep out the cold. There was one problem...

"Hey, that is mine." Fred grumbled, noticing that the fluffy fleece robe pulled around the woman, was in fact his own. It was blue and black plaid, and a rather thick construction that was equally comfy as it was warm. And Fred used it less for an actual bath/shower and more for sitting around and being warm in his bedroom.

"Well, yours is the warmest. And mine is far thinner. Plus, I couldn't get into Shaggy and Scooby's room to get his. Since Scoob was passed out. So, I raided Velma's wardrobe instead!" Daphne said offering Fred Velma's matching red and black plaid bathrobe the woman had for similar reasons. Though compared to when Fred wore his, Velma swam in hers at the difference in their height wearing the same size bathrobe. Fred used his less then Velma did, making hers more worn in and thinner in spots. Probably why Daphne raided his less used robe, then taking her own best friend's one. But at least, it was better then the purple monstrosity that sat in Daphne's other offered hand.

_Well, 'Lavender'... or was it 'Lilac'_?

"Was Velm's in?" Fred asked, sliding into the robe and giving a small sniff to the collar before tugging it on fully. Noticing the orange scent at the edge, probably from Velma's preferred shampoo. Earning a snicker from Daphne as he put it on. Not sure if she noticed his action or not.

"Nope, she wasn't in her room."

"Oh, for me? Thank you!" Shaggy on the other hand, had no problem plucking the thin and more flimsy purple robe from Daphne's hands and putting it on himself. Sliding his arms into the long sleeves that ended with a overly furred cuff. It was matched with a over the top furred neck collar. But similar enough to Shaggy's normal jacket for him to not really notice. Cinching the feathery tipped belt around his waist. Securing the bathrobe to his own body.

He was used to the cold, since it was his freezer. And he spent a decent amount of time in there on and off. So, he didn't need as much protection. That, and he tended to wear just a glorified long sleeve t-shirt for his go-to winter jacket normally. Cold didn't bother him too much.

"Ok, we are set! Now let's give this a try and finally see what happens to a bubble when you freeze it!"

Pulling up one sleeved arm, Daphne shook her fist once and then tugged open the door to walk inside. Getting into place, so the guys could come in behind her. It wasn't too big, that they didn't have to huddle around each other, but it was big enough that they weren't too crowded. Fred followed in after her, and then finally Shaggy... with a plate daintily on his hands and slid on to a nearby shelf for them all to stare at. And before the door finally closed, Shaggy flicked on the inside light so they would be able to see what would be happening.

"Don't breath..." Daphne hushed the guys, rubbing her arms and bumping into Shaggy beside her as she moved. But had her eyes locked on the Bubble. Not wanting to miss it this time. And plus, her name as a Blake was on the line! How dare she be a Bubbles Blake and not actually know what happens to a bubble in the cold?

She had never thought about it. And you would think an empire raised up by such products, this would have come to her mind sooner. But well, she blamed all that 'pesky mystery solving and meddling' for distracting her from finding out the answer.

"Wait! I think s_..sss..ss_omething is happening." Fred stuttered as he shivered. Bringing attention to what was happening before them.

All eyes fell upon the small bubble. It was about the size of an orange, though more like half of one as the weight of it's own 'skin' pulled it more into a dome shape on the flat surface it sat upon.

Tiny dots seemed to be forming on the bubble. They appeared in the middle of the bubble but as they grew bigger, they collected at the top in small clusters. Shifting upwards at time moved on. In seconds, the little specks bloomed into fractal patterns of self contained snowflakes on the surface of the bubble. Or was it the skin of the bubble itself? It was hard to tell. Growing into one another, the snowflake walls knitted themselves together, taking over the sphere. The base of the bubble had also bloomed into a mess of snowflake tendrils of patterning. Snaking northward, aiming to join the rest of the mostly covered bubble. But against the creeping icy markings... all of a sudden the bubble popped.

No, popped was the wrong word... it _peeled_.

Like a small, fragile paper bubble... the weak spot failed to become a clustered snowflake like the rest of the dome. Popping like what would normal happen in a weak wall of a normal bubble, the warm air trapped inside of it rushed past the break in the wall and pushed the frozen pieces of the bubble wall away. Ripping it from the round shape like the skin off an orange before collapsing under it's own weight on the plate.

Silence fell between them all. Captivated at what had just happened. Not expecting that outcome, or even thinking that something like that could have happened to the soap bubble.

"Duuuu**uuuu_uude._**" Daphne finally broke the silence, tugging on her own robe's fuzzy arm that coated Shaggy, "Get another one! Do it **again!**"

Nodding eagerly; Shaggy's head would have fallen off, had it not been bolted to his neck at all the vigorous shaking in agreement. Socked feet padding off, he practically ripped open the door to grab another one. The rush of the warmer wind made by the door, hit the collapsed bubble and disintegrated it. Scattering it into dust, only leaving a small trace of where it once stood on the shelf. But Fred couldn't take the time to gather his thoughts when Shaggy returned with another, slightly bigger bubble on another plate. It wobbling as he charged back into the walk-in and closed the door. Putting it beside where the other had been sitting.

Settling, the bubble jiggled slower and slower till the snowflakes sprang up anew and slowly corrupted the opalescent surface with its geometric patterns. It almost felt like a snow globe, but only if the snow inside had a life of their own and wanted to coat the inside... searching for a way to break free.

More frozen vines sprouted up from the base, sweeping to overtake the blooming snowflakes that collected at the top. Meeting in the middle, leaving a stripe for last. Eventually coating the whole surface with crystal looking arrangement. This bubble, managing to fully freeze before very eyes.

It only took seconds, but it felt like forever. Finally risking to breath once it was formed, but Fred made sure to breath out against his hands. So, he wouldn't cause this bubble to fall apart like the first one due to his breath.

"That is amazing..." Shaggy said in awe. Moving his face close to take in the whole frozen bubble. Peering around the sides as far as his head could fit in the shelf. Daphne took up the space on the other side, curious as well.

"Can I poke it?" Daphne admitted, bringing up a hand. "...I really want to poke it."

"Yeah, go for it." Fred offered, curious as well. But, it had been her idea in the first place. So, might as well let her poke it first to see what would happen. Not sure if it would collapse, peel or just crumble into powder like the first one.

"For Science!"

Bringing up a manicured finger, Daphne lightly tapped the side of the bubble. But she jabbed it so quickly and lightly, it almost seemed to do nothing to it. Trying a stronger poke this time, she pressed her nail into the edge of the bubble and watched it crumble and collapse against the outside pressure. Caving in that one side as the rest stayed standing. At another finger flick, she snapped off chunks of the thin wall of ice, only finally falling apart once she took out enough of the walls to support the sphere from holding itself upright.

"Man, Velma's really missing out." Fred chattered as he rubbed his shoulders, trying to warm himself up. Not doing good against the cold, especially that he had wet hands... that he had been rubbing all over the sleeves.

"... and now I'm going to have to wash this."

"Well, you also had a massive soapy hand print on your back from earlier from Shaggy. So, you were going to have to wash that anyway." Daphne laughed, pointing out what she had been chuckling about earlier. Shaggy had congratulated Fred from making his bubble, and forgot his hands were also soapy and he just clapped the subs right into Fred's white long sleeve."...Aaaand might as well wash your shirts while your at it."

"Aw, really?" Fred whined, putting a hand to the shoulder Shaggy had patted but unable to see his own shoulder blade past the fuzzy robe and his own back to see it properly.

"Like' Sorry Fred. I forgot."

"Nah, no worries. I just hope Velma isn't going to need this anytime." Fred spoke up, tugging on the sleeve around his wrist. "I wonder if she is in the basement? If Daph didn't find her in her own room."

"Most likely. But it is getting a bit cold. But that was so cool!" Rubbing her own arms, she was glad that her hands hadn't been wet before this all. Grabbing the dishes, she made her way back outside to the much warmer kitchen. Waiting for the guys to join her before continuing their conversation. So she wasn't talking to the walk-in door.

"So, apparently a bubble freezes in multiple places before combining in the middle. But it's still possible for the bubble to break before it freezes." Daphne put her observation into words. Enjoying the little experiment they had done, to answer the simple question of what happens to a bubble in the cold.

"And it can peel apart, if the walls aren't fully frozen, and can crumble and collapse when they do freeze. Like a deflated balloon." Shaggy noted, also enjoying the experience. Knowing that he would totally have to show Scooby at some point, once the Dane was awake and could see what was happening. His fuzzy buddy might not appreciate the science behind their experiment, but it was still neat to look at. And he bet Scooby would get a kick out of watching the bubbles.

"Bubbles... Balloons... Hmm." All of a sudden Daphne started to laugh. Earning the guys to look at each other in slight worry. Knowing that kind of laugh from the redhead.

"Heh heh... I got an idea. But it might take me a bit to get everything together. Fred, why don't you warm up and get changed into some not wet shirts, we can toss those in the laundry. And Shaggy, you might want to get some of those dishes done. I can help a bit..." Offering to help, pointing at the slightly less bubbly mess that the two guys had left, but still pretty impressive and sudsy.

"But let's meet up here in an hour... to do another experiment."

Rubbing her hands together, Daphne liked how this plan was shaping up. So much better then one of Fred's on a mystery, but one that could rival one of Shaggy's well through out ones. With her own brand of mischief mixed in. She would teach Velma to be conveniently not around and working on something of her own... _How dare she?!_


End file.
